


Prompt Works

by Skyeec2



Category: RWBY
Genre: Characters by the Chapters, Fluff, I Blame Tumblr, Other, Relationship by the Chapters, prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-09-14 08:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9169801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyeec2/pseuds/Skyeec2
Summary: A Collection of random prompt fics, concerning random characters in mostly random situations.





	1. Emerald & Scarlet - Arrested Together

“I swear if you don’t let me go I’ll –“ She was cut off roughly as the man behind her shoved her forward roughly, almost causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. She managed to save herself though and could keep her feet under her as she was moved towards the parked vehicle.

She growled at the person behind her, white teeth showing in her state of aggression. The only boon was that the asshole was getting a similar treatment.

The redhead pirate was also being lead towards the police vehicle behind her, he was quieter though not as antagonistic. He was behaving for the police officers.

She hated him even more.

She could barely remember what had led to their fight, only recalling that the guy had done something that had pissed her off. It had ended the way it always did, with her planting her fist in his cheek.

She smirked as his dumbfounded face flashed in front of her eyes, then he had to go and sweep her feet out from under her and the fight really started.

It had gotten so bad that some random civilians had called the police, leading to their current situation.

They reached the vehicle and the officer tried to force her in, causing her to snarl in retaliation and try to attack him. In didn’t end the way she wanted it to as she ended up inside the car with her hands bound in front of her, attached to a bar running along the back of the front seats.

She saw the other officer and the pirate out of the corner of her eye, approaching the other side of the car. They couldn’t actually be planning too…

They were.

The other officer opened the car door, shoved the dude in and attached him to the same bar she was currently held by. The pirate grumbled at the rough treatment before pressing as close to his door as he could.

She huffed an annoyed breath, ignoring the other in the car for favour of looking out the window. Mercury was currently talking to one of the officers, probably trying to get her out of trouble.

Mercury was not going to let her live this down. Bastard.

The pirate’s friends were also talking to an officer. They had tried to stop the fight from escalating, it hadn’t worked in their favour.

The officers ended their conversations and entered the car. Starting the engine and taking them to the police station.

The pirate settled against the door, waiting out the ride to the station in station.

She really hated the guy.


	2. Qrow & Ruby - Encouraging Habits

The first time Qrow encouraged a drinking habit in his niece it was an accident.

~

“Hey kid, what’s wrong?” Qrow wasn’t used to seeing the kid like this. She was usually bright and cheerful, not sad and withdrawn.

The kid turned to him with bright, tear-filled eyes at his question, sniffling slightly as she responded. “H-hi U-uncle Qrow,” she hiccupped a bit as she spoke, “N-nothing’s w-w-wrong.”

Yeah and Taiyang was a brunet. He crouched down to her level, using a hand on her chin to make her meet his eyes. “Come on kid, we both know that’s not true.” He ran his thumb gently under one of her silver eyes, “Why don’t you tell me kid?”

She gave a soft sob collapsing into his frame, her tiny arms wrapping around his neck as she hid her face in his shirt. One of his hands came up to rub her back comfortably, attempting to soothe his young niece. He wasn’t good with things like this, where was Tai when he needed him?

“Mommy’s gone,” She sobbed against him, he froze at the words though she didn’t seem to notice. “Yang got hurt and daddy’s sad and it’s all wrong,” the young girl’s distress hurt him a bit, causing him to pull her tighter against him.

“It’ll be alright, sweetheart.” He muttered into her dark hair, holding her close and resuming rubbing her back comfortably. “It’s gonna be alright kid, just give it some time.”

She whimpered softly, her cries quieting within his arms. He lifted the small form up with his as he stood, cradling the child against him as he made his way into the kitchen.

She clung to him tightly as he walked, keeping her face pressed against his shirt all the while.

He set her down at the table when they reached the kitchen, settling her down before turning to grab a glass from the cabinet and the milk from the fridge. He quickly poured a glass of the cold liquid, turning and setting in down before her.

“Here you go kid, drink up it’s good for you.” He encouraged her gently, sitting down next to her at the table. He watched her work her way through the glass until she was done with it.

He picked her up again, the kid was yawning now, obviously exhausted from her earlier outburst. He took her up to her room, tucking her into her bed.

He sat at her bedside after tucking her in, running his hand through her hair until she had fallen asleep. He remained there for a while, his face buried in his hands, fighting off his own tears.

Gods, he needed a drink.

~

The next time, it was kinda his fault. Just a little bit.

~

“Hey kiddo, how you doing?” It seemed that every time he saw Ruby now she was down, far different than how she had been before coming to Beacon. He shouldn’t have just let her come to Beacon, she wasn’t ready for all this.

“Oh, hey Uncle Qrow,” her voice carried a tinge of hollowness and confusion as she spoke to him, barely acknowledging his presence. She stared through him with a vacant unfocused gaze.

He sighed at her, grabbing her arm gently with his hand and leading her somewhere to get something to drink. He’s lucky that Beacon hasn’t really changed since the last time he was here so he still remembered where to go.

He sat Ruby down at a deserted table and went to go grab them both a drink. When he had both glasses in his hand he paused, turning to glance at the young girl sitting where he left her.

He heaved a great sigh at the sight, turning back to the drinks and taking out his flask. He poured a generous amount into both glasses, returned the flask to where he usually kept it and turned back to his niece.

He placed one of the glasses in front of Ruby and sits down next to her at the table. He sighs again, encouraging her to drink what was in front of her.

He watched from the corner of his eye as she took a deep gulp of the milk, focusing on his own glass and taking a sip from it.

The kid had a rough few days, what with everything going on with Yang and that boy she _‘attacked’_. God, things were going to hell around here.

This combined with the fall maiden situation were not spelling out a hopeful future for them.

He saw Ruby’s shoulders start to minutely shake next to him. He pulled her into his side, feeling her collapse against him as her tears soaked his shirt. He placed his chin atop her head, running a hand along her spine like he had all those years before.

He still had no idea what he was doing.

~

The last time Qrow had any impact on Ruby’s drinking habit, it was too late to stop it

~

Everything had gone to hell; Beacon had fallen, Vale was overrun and Ozpin was gone. Qrow was lucky that both his nieces were alive.

They had both been injured during the fall but nothing that couldn’t be healed. Taiyang was going to take them home as soon as he could, not that he blamed the man.

He was currently sitting at a bar, many of the survivors had similar thoughts on their minds so the bar was filled. He had worked his way through several drinks and was well on his way to drunk when Ruby sat down next to him.

She was shivering slightly, minute tremors running through her slight frame as she sits on the bar stool. Her feet don’t even touch the ground when she sat on the stool.

It might have been funny, any other day.

She was quiet in her seat next to him, staring at the bar’s countertop and ignoring the people around her.

His heart ached for her, she had lost a lot recently; two of her friends, her school, her teacher, not to mention what happened to her sister.

Gods, things just had to get worst didn’t they.

The bar tender, barely paying attention to the patrons anymore, placed a glass of something in front of the young girl.  Then again with something like Crescent Rose on her back, of course the bartender wasn’t going to question her.

Before he could stop her, she picked up the glass and knocked most the contents down.

She coughed and sputtered from the unfamiliar taste of the alcohol, taking smaller sips from the glass. He watched her with wide eyes, barely recognizing when she finished the first and the bar-tender absently placed another in front of her.

She took this one slower, nursing it as she stared at the woodgrain of the bar. Qrow couldn’t blame her for this, he wanted to but then that would make him a bit of a hypocrite, wouldn’t it?

After all he used alcohol to try to wipe his mind clean of things he didn’t want to remember; Taiyang’s face when Raven said she wasn’t suited for the life he wanted, all the people he hadn’t been able to save, what had been left of Summer’s body…

He downed his glass and signalled for another as well as a glass of water, watching his niece next to him closely. He had to make sure she was safe.

They stayed in that bar for hours until he dragged home the sobbing drunken girl, breaking alongside her with each name that fell from her mouth amidst her cries.

“Penny… Pyrrha… Professor…” The names of the people she hadn’t been able to help, the people she had lost.

He doubted she would ever move on from them, she was too much like him for that.

He tried to force the thought that she was too much like him in other ways away from his mind. It didn’t matter then, he just needed to look after her.

Everything was going to be fine.

Ruby was going to be fine.

…

…

…

Why didn’t he believe that?

 


	3. Qrow & Ruby & Yang - Mommy Qrow Cookies

“… in bed before eight or they’ll be tired tomorrow and absolutely no sugar after dinner, Ruby won’t sleep at all if she has any.” Taiyang was listing things off on his fingers as if Qrow hadn’t looked after the girls a million times before.

To be fair the last time he looked after the girls he had Ruby hyped up on sugar cookies and then left Taiyang to deal with the aftermath. He absolutely planned to do it again so Taiyang was wasting his time by this point.

The man was still talking so Qrow decided to gently remind him of the matter at hand, “Aren’t you going to be late for your ride?” It got the desired effect.

Taiyang froze turning to glance at the clock hanging close by. He breathed a curse, thankfully unheard by the girls, and quickly gathered what he needed to head out the door. He kissed both the girls and Qrow couldn’t help but tease the man.

“Aww, none for me?” Taiyang ignored him and would have walked out the door had it not been for Ruby.

“Daddy! You gotta kiss Mommy Qrow goodbye too!” He loved the little girl sometimes, she was such a sweetheart. Taiyang obviously agreed with him if his next actions were anything to go by.

He sighed heavily before moving over to Qrow, ignoring his large grin, and placed his lips chastely against his cheek. He moved away as quickly as Ruby would allow him to, leaving the house with another quick goodbye and a wave.

He and the girls remained composed for a few seconds after Taiyang was out of the door, then Yang burst into laughter not bothering to muffle them at all. Ruby soon followed though whether it was because she found the situation amusing or if it was because Yang was laughing he couldn’t tell.

He watched the girls for a moment then turned to investigate what Taiyang had left them in the kitchen. The girls followed him into the room, sitting themselves at the table as he looked through the high cabinets.

Geez, how high did Taiyang want these things? Any higher and he’d need a step ladder to look in them.

“What’re you doing Mommy Qrow?” Ruby’s question was asked innocently from the table. She’d been calling him that for a while and he didn’t really care to make her change it.

She hadn’t really known Summer before she died and no matter how much Taiyang and Yang tried to tell her there’s always going to be a difference between knowing someone because you know them and knowing someone because you’ve been told about them.

Besides, he didn’t mind taking on the ‘mommy’ role for Ruby. He doubted Taiyang minded either, a bit less on his plate was bound to help the man and he was happy to help his old teammate anyway he could.

“Yeah Uncle Qrow, what you looking for?” That was Yang’s voice now, young and vibrant. It was good, she’d been almost hollow following Summer’s death. He was glad she was starting to regain her former vibrant self.

“Just you wait girls, you’ll figure it out.” He continued to look through the cabinets for what he needed, where did Taiyang put the things anyway. Ah, there they are.

He pulled out what he had found from the cabinets, setting the items on the bench, showing the girls his plans clearly.

“AH!” Ruby gasped behind him, excitement and joy colouring her tone, “Mommy Qrow Cookies!” Her words soon dissolved into fast happy babbling and without looking he was sure her tiny form was nearly vibrating in excitement.

Yang accompanies her sister’s words with a joyful exclamation of her own, pumping her small fist into the air.

He gives the girls a confident smile, gesturing to the ingredients he had gathered with an exaggerated grandiose gesture. “You got it, kiddos.” His smile softens as he moves over to the girls, encircling them in his arms as he continues. “Now, either of you two want to help me?”

The girls both exclaimed excitedly, ducking away from him and rushing towards the counter he had left the ingredients on.

Man, they were going to wreck Taiyang’s kitchen.

~

He was right of course.

There was flour everywhere, a few eggs had escaped to the ground and a bit of dough had somehow gotten stuck to the countertop. He glanced up to the ceiling, huffing a sigh when he saw the room was clear. Last time, they had somehow managed to almost paint the ceiling white.

He still wasn’t sure how that had happened.

Now the girls were crouched in front of the oven, staring intently at the trays of cookies baking inside. He looked at the young girls for a moment before moving over to them.

“Alright girls, time to clean up.” They grumbled at his bright tone before reluctantly standing to help him out. They were good kids.

They were quick to get to work, cleaning up the mess together.

The timer, he had set on the oven went off as they finished cleaning up everything. The girls squealed in excitement, watching him take the trays out of the oven impatiently.

They both knew that the cookies wouldn’t be ready for a bit of time yet, though. They watched him place the cookies on a cooling rack, placing the baking tray off to the side for the moment.

He ushered them back to the table to wait for them to cool enough to be eaten, turning to the fridge to get each of the girls a tall glass of milk to accompany the cookies. Ruby beamed at him as he set the glass in front of her, focusing her gaze back on the cooling tray afterwards.

Yang gave him a bright smile of her own as well as a soft thank you. He sat at the table, inquiring about how things were going to draw their attention away from the cooling tray.

It worked and he listened to the two girls talk about what he had missed since the last time he had seen them, just a bit over a week before. He enjoyed the moment, there was still quite a few years before things would get complicated, so enjoying the simple conversation while he had the chance was necessary.

When he felt like enough time had passed, he returned to the cooling tray, separating a few cookies onto a plate to carry over to the table and leaving the rest to cool further. Once they were the right temperature he would store them away to be eaten later.

Leaving them out for too long would result in Ruby devouring them all in one go. The girl could put these things away when she wanted to.

He walked back over to the table, placing the plate between the girls. He kept a close eye on Ruby to ensure that she didn’t steal them all for herself.

He took one for himself enjoying the residue warmth of the cookies making the chocolate within soft enough to melt in his mouth.

He was going to enjoy the next few days with the girls. Taiyang had nothing to worry about.

Mommy Qrow had it covered.


	4. Neo + Scarlet - BFFs AU

“Neo,” Scarlet groans into his hands, hiding behind them as the small women next to him continues to sign frantically into his flushed face.

She of course continues to ignore him, hands flying deftly through the different signals as she continues to communicate to them.

He peeks through his fingers, glancing from the women taking up most of his view to their confused friend, Neptune, a few feet away. He had his raised hand awkwardly as he looked at him dumbfoundedly.

He didn’t even understand why this had sent Neo into the flurry she was currently in. Though it probably had something to do with being hyped up on caffeine and sugar and having spent the last few days trolling internet forums.

He had tried asking her about it once, only for the women to give him a self-satisfied grin and signing, “it keeps them on their toes.” He hadn’t asked her about her weird trolling expeditions since.

She was still signing right in front of their face so he reluctantly dropped his hands and leaned back a bit to take in what Neo was trying to say. Neptune had dropped his hand by then and was walking over to them, confusion painting his features.

They watched Neo’s hands for a few moments, flush returning to their cheeks brightly when they were finally able to make out the words. “The Ocean calls to me! She knows my name!”

“Neo,” He groans again, flicking their gaze over to where Neptune is still making his way towards them. “What does that even mean?” He asks, staring at Neo as she grins mischievously and practically bounces over to Neptune to give him a proper greeting.

He sighs into their hands, sometimes he didn’t know how he kept up with Neo.

He followed the shorter women over to Neptune, taking some of Neo’s attention away from him. He knew how overwhelming Neo’s full attention could be at times so he didn’t tease him about the obvious relief on his face.

Not too much at least. He left that up to Neo.


	5. Cardin + Bolin - I refuse to die here

Cardin didn’t know where his teammates were, he had lost them somewhere in the chaos of what was happening around them. Something was happening, he didn’t know what but Beacon was being attacked by the creatures of Grimm and Atlas mecha-soldiers at the same time.

He keeps his gaze peeled, searching for any of his teammates as he fights off the Grimm. He doesn’t know where he lost the others or even when he lost them; just that between one moment and the next they were gone and he was left to fight alone.

He was determined not to fall here though, so he would keep fighting for as long as he could.

He heard the sounds of combat a bit of distance away and started heading in that direction, whether a civilian or another fighting the Grimm like him, he was going to help as much as he could.

He turned a corner and found himself looking at a young man about his age fending off two beowolves as best he could. He was backed up to the wall of a building with only a staff to protect himself.

Cardin wasted no time leaping into action, slamming his mace into one of the Grimm’s jaws. He continues to attack the Grimm, giving the staff-wielding hunter the opportunity to attack the other Grimm.

He took the opportunity, attacking the Grimm in a flurry of quick blows now that he didn’t have to split his attention between the two. They soon finished off the Grimm, leaving them standing in the street.

Cardin nods at the other hunter before turning away to continue searching for his teammates. He needed to make sure they hadn’t gotten themselves into situations similar to what he had just helped the staff-wielder with.

He heard footsteps following him, the other hunter was probably going with him until he could find his own teammates. Cardin remained silent, moving through the besieged city with the staff-wielder at his back.

He wasn’t foolish enough to turn away whatever help he could get.


	6. Ozpin + Glynda - On the matter of guilt

“Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Goodwitch?”

Her head shot up at the words, she hadn’t expected anyone to be here this late at night so the voice behind her caught her off guard. She turned to look at whoever had come up behind her, her eyes widening minutely in shock at the sight of Headmaster Ozpin standing there.

He raised his brow questioningly and she realized she had been staring at him. She turned away from him focusing on the moonlit scenery out of the window. “No.” She spoke, hoping he’d leave.

“Hmm,” she heard behind her, followed by the soft sounds of footsteps approaching her. He came to stand next to her at the window, looking out at the school’s courtyard. “I don’t suppose this is about what happened today is it?”

She tried to ignore his words but she couldn’t stop herself from seeing them.

Just a few days ago, they had been bright and vibrate; children working towards making their dreams a reality. Now she had to figure out how to tell their parents that they weren’t going to be returning home.

He seemed to take her silence as an answer and continued to speak. “It wasn’t your fault, Miss Goodwitch.” Her hands clenched at her sides and she resisted the urge to strike him. “You should not hold yourself responsible for their fates.”

She didn’t bother to resist the urge then, turning and striking him across the face. The blow barely ruffled him and she grit her teeth at his unchanged expression and almost hit struck him again.

She refrained from doing so; once could be explained away by _emotions_ but a second could cause her to lose her position. Instead she curled her hand close to her chest, glaring up at the headmaster.

“Of course, I’m responsible! I was supposed to watch out for them!” She snarled at him, staring at him coldly. He just blinked at her, returning his gaze to the dark landscape.

“According to the reports, you did everything in your power to prevent their death. It was their own disobedience that lead to their death.” She froze in shock at his words, unable to comprehend what he was saying.

He turned from the window then, walking away from her. He paused at the doorway speaking once more before leaving.

“You’re going to lose more huntsman and huntresses than I would like to tell you, Miss Goodwitch. Do not place blame on yourself unless you truly deserve it.” He paused then and she heard the door opening. “Instead, work towards ensuring today’s events do not repeat themselves.”

He left the room then, closing the door behind him as he left, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

…

…

Nobody said anything about the broken windows the next morning.


	7. Arslan + Ozpin - High School AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sentence starter for this was literally 'He hadn’t seen anything like it in twenty years of teaching' so I ran with it.  
> Proofread by @corrupted-spirit on Tumblr

He hadn’t seen anything like it in twenty years of teaching; yes he was used to trying to break up fights that the student body could get into, but never like this.

Usually it was one student against one student or multiple students on multiple students with them all being equally damaged from the encounter.

Now though, it was multiple students against one student with the one student appearing to be relatively fine while the group were nursing various bruises and injuries.

It seemed like an attack gone wrong; the group had clearly underestimated the young women and hadn’t been expecting her to fight back as she did. But now he had to fill out reports for all the participants and get to the reason why this had occurred.

He had left the group of students in Professor Goodwitch’s ‘care’ for the moment and was currently sitting across from the victor of the encounter.

The girl was sitting in the chair with her arms crossed defensively in front of her and had her eyes trained on the floor. She was probably waiting from him to announce her punishment, but he’d never been one to punish the victim.

He sighed heavily, drawing a suspicious glare from the girl.

“For what reason did those students decide to attack you?” He asked, thinking it best to just dive into the matter at hand.

“They weren’t after me,” she answered with a scowl, her fists tightening in anger. “They wanted to ‘teach Nadir a lesson’.”

He waited for her to expand on her answer, prompting her when she didn’t continue. “A ‘lesson’ about what?”

“About something they’re too stupid to understand!” The words were almost a shout but he remained calm and collected, he had a vague idea about what she meant.

“His sexual orientation?” He questioned, keeping a level gaze and calm tone. His only answer was a tense nod.

He should have expected something like this, this was going to make things a bit more difficult.

“Well,” he started, drawing her gaze back from where it had focused intently on her hands. “While I can’t talk for some of my colleagues, I will see that they’re all punished for attacking you.”

“What about me?” She asked wearily.

“The way I see it; you were only acting in self-defence.” He responded, shrugging lightly. “Why should I punish you for trying to protect your friend?”

She blinked at him for several minutes before nodding slightly. He instructed her to go to her next class after writing a pass for her.

He slumped into his seat after she had left his office, now he had to retrieve the group of students from Goodwitch and decide on their punishment.

Some days he wondered why he even wanted to be a teacher, children could be so cruel on occasions.


	8. Juane/Roman - MoodRing Soulmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka I get to write my crack ship  
> Proofread by @corrupted-spirit on Tumblr

Roman kept his gaze focused on the name on his arm, the name had been rapidly changing colour as the night progressed. Not that he blamed his dear heart; if they were anywhere near Beacon then they had a front seat to Cinder’s plans.

The name had started out its usual nervous orange before suddenly shifting to a brighter, more panicked colour, tinged with angry red. From there it had shifted between those colours and darker, sorrowful blue.

Roman was fearing that the name would suddenly scorch him and bleach into a dead white colour.

He glanced up as the door to his cell opened, revealing Neo standing before him with his hat and weapon.

He grinned at his partner in crime, standing gracefully and exiting his cell. Now wasn’t the time to stare at the almost black-blue name marring his arm, he had work to do.

If all went well, then he would be able to escape Cinder’s notice in the chaos and resume his life before she had drawn him into her web. He was eager to return to his own work.

He and Neo would be able to hide from Cinder if they could get away; all she would have on them were the names on their arms.

Hopefully she wouldn’t bother to come after them at all and neither of their names would be hunted down to be used as leverage.

Perhaps when things died down he could finally meet his name; Jaune Arc. Even if his other didn’t want to be associated with a criminal, it might be nice to finally meet the troubled other-half of his soul.

Until then, it was time to perform.

~-LineBreak-~

Jaune hadn’t had time to even glance at his name during the Fall; too busy trying to keep himself and his team alive during the attack.

And then Pyrrha…

It was hours before he could think enough to unravel the binding around the name, looking it over vacantly.

The name had changed from the morose colour it had been for weeks to a stark bleach white.

He felt a nauseating swirl of emotions within his chest; a mixture of bone-deep desire and aching relief.

He had known for years who his name belonged to, had known that he was connected to a criminal mastermind since the time one of his sisters rushed into the family room to turn on the news channel.

It was disgraceful; an Arc being bound to a criminal. His partners had been furious.

Ever since learning who the man was, he had kept his name covered at all times. Especially after coming to Beacon.

Jaune didn’t have the time to mourn the criminal, not with everything that had happened.

Not that he deserved to mourn, he had been ashamed of the name for years.

He sighed heavily, dragging his hand over his face. He needing to find Ren and Nora, make sure they were ok.

The stark white letters caught his eye again, making him pause.

He swallowed heavily and covered the name again and stood from the floor.

He needed to check on Ren and Nora.


	9. Oobleck + Tukson - He's not my son AU

Bartholomew hadn’t known how to take the news at first, now ex-wife had come to him one night and demanded a divorce, leaving him with their four-year-old son and almost nothing else.

He had promised himself that he wouldn’t let her actions tinge the way his son saw his Mother but suddenly being kicked out of home by the woman with his Father to spend a few nights with Uncle Peter was sure to leave a scar.

Bartholomew had been prepared to rebuild from the ground up, providing the best life for his son as he could. He was willing to work an extra job to ensure that his child always had food in his stomach and a roof over his head.

Then she had thrown out that Joel wasn’t his by blood. That he was the result of an affair that she had never told him about.

Bartholomew hadn’t been able to prevent the flinch her words had caused him but he wouldn’t let that change the way he treated Joel, the boy was his son. No matter whose genetics he shared.

He eventually decided that he should inform that man, whomever he was, that he had a child.

He had thought it through for months, staying up late talking with his old friends, Peter and Taiyang, about what he should do in this situation. While Taiyang was hesitant, Peter agreed with him; the man deserved to at least know about Joel’s existence even if he decided he wanted nothing to do with him.

If he decided he wanted to be a part of Joel’s life, well they could cross that bridge when they got to it.

It took him a few weeks to convince his ex-wife to tell him the name of the man and weeks further still to track down the man.

He was eventually able to arrange a meeting with the man. They had agreed to meet at a small café in a nice part of town, close enough to not be out of their way for either of them but far enough away that they didn’t pass the place in their day-to-day life.

Bartholomew had arrived a few minutes early, too nervous to stand waiting at home another moment. The appointed time had nearly arrived when a large, muscular man came to stand in front of him.

“Bartholomew Oobleck?” The man asked, looking down at him with a curious gaze.

“Yes.” He straightened suddenly, nearly standing eye to eye with the muscular man. “Yes that’s me. Tristian Tukson I presume?” His words were quick and rushed but the man didn’t ask him to slow-down so he assumed that he had been understood.

“Yeah,” Tukson was watching him with dark eyes. “You wanna go inside?” He watched as Tukson gestured to the building behind him, his voice was warm but he could hear the hesitance in the other’s tone.

“Yes that’s fine with me. Let’s go sit inside.” He turned to enter the building before Tukson could say anything in reply.

The café was nearly empty inside and it was easy to find a table for the two of them.

They both ignored the reason they were there for a few minutes by ordering drinks from the waiter. There were a few more minutes of awkward silence before Bartholomew decided to dive right into the conversation.

“There’s no good way to bring this up so I’ll just get right to the point,” he barely paused for breath, merely ensured that he had Tukson’s attention before continuing. “You had an affair with a woman named Cassiopeia Oobleck almost five years ago yes?”

Whatever Tukson had been expecting, it hadn’t been that if the almost violent-way he flinched. “Ah, yes. I did.” The other man was quite confused by the topic and was obviously fidgeting with his sleeve.

“Well I’m sure you’ll be surprised to learn that she was my wife at the time we’re divorced now.” The waiter returned with their drinks, causing Bartholomew to take a moment to thank them before continuing. “You’ll also most likely be surprised to know that we had a child about four-and-a-half years ago only it turns out that he’s not mine biologically. He’s yours actually.”

Tukson was stunned silent for several minutes, just staring at him as he took several sips from his coffee. It was actually pretty good, he’d have to think about coming here again.

“W-What?” The other’s voice cracked as he spoke the word, his eyes trained on Bartholomew in disbelief.

He took a final sip from his coffee, he might need to get another before they were done with their conversation.


	10. Adam + Nora - Trapped AU

“Ren, I’m trapped in an elevator with Blake’s ex! Help me!” The younger woman trapped with him nearly shouted into the phone. Adam did his best to ignore her for the moment, instead he texted his friend explaining what was happening.

‘Stuck in elevator at Blake’s place. With very loud person. Send help.’

He lowered his phone, watching the animated young woman as she gestured while shouting into her phone.

His own vibrated in his hand, alerting him to the fact that his friend had responded to him.

‘Sucks to be you, bro. Power’s out all over the city. You’re gonna be stuck there a while.’

Well, wasn’t that just perfect. Of course he couldn’t get a break; he just wanted to do something nice for his old friend and he ended up trapped in an elevator.

“Ren! What do you mean by a few hours?!”

He was never going to do anything nice for anyone ever again. If Blake left anything else at his place that she wanted, she could come get it herself. No matter how ‘busy’ she apparently was.

If he could take the time to go out of his way to bring her the pictures she had left at his place as a favour, then there was no reason for her not to be able to do the same.

“Ren! But it’s really awkward! I don’t know what to do!” He leaned his head back against the wall, ignoring the dull thud his skull made against the metal wall.

The gods must hate him.


End file.
